Rewards, Screenings, Quitlines Supporting ‘Great American Smokeout’

As the nation approaches the 2008 Great American Smokeout on November 20, a research team at the University of Connecticut Health Center is examining whether adding rewards to a treatment program will help people give up smoking for good.

Sheila Alessi, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and her collaborators are studying whether an incentive-based behavioral intervention known as contingency management (CM) can improve quit rates among patients using varenicline, an approved medication for smoking cessation.

Contingency management is a type of treatment in which patients receive incentives or prizes for “good” behavior — in this case, that good behavior is not smoking.

“If a behavioral therapy such as contingency management can improve early response to varenicline, more patients may stop smoking, which should be associated with long-term abstinence and health benefits,” Dr Alessi said.

Study participants must be age 18 or older, and will be divided into two groups. One group will receive brief smoking cessation counseling with varenicline.

The second group will receive the same brief counseling and varenicline plus the chance to draw cards from a prize bowl during the first four weeks if their breath and urine samples test negative for cigarette smoking.

The prize bowl contains about 500 cards and half of those will entitle the drawer to prizes worth $1, $20, or $100.

The other half says “Good Job” or “Have a Nice Day” and result in no prize.

Smoking kills more than 5,000 in Connecticut every year, yet more than 25 percent of the state’s population continues to smoke. Nearly 70 percent of smokers want to quit, but each year, fewer than three percent of them are successful.

Anyone interested in participating in the smoking cessation study can call 860-299-5607, or visit www.uchc.edu.

Carbon Monoxide

Screening

The Respiratory Therapy Department and the Norma F. Pfriem Cancer Institute at Bridgeport Hospital is taking a different approach for the Great American Smokeout by providing free carbon monoxide screenings for smokers, along with information on smoking cessation, between 11 am and 4 pm on November 20, in the hospital lobby at 267 Grant Street.

The carbon monoxide screenings will consist of a simple breath test. The event will also include a free prize drawing and free refreshments.

The hospital will also staff an information table at the Westfield Trumbull Shopping Centre, 5065 Main Street in Trumbull, the same day between 10 am and 2 pm. The table will be located on the upper level, outside the new Target store.

For information on the Bridgeport Hospital program, call Outpatient Pulmonary Coordinator Gretchen May-Fendo at 336-7375.

According to the American Cancer Society, there are an estimated 45 million adult smokers in the United States. Tobacco use can cause lung cancer, as well as other cancers, heart disease, and lung disease.

Smoking is responsible for one in three cancer deaths, and one in five deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million people are living with serious illnesses caused by smoking.

Smoking cessation has almost immediate health benefits, including a reduced heart rate and blood pressure. Other benefits, over time, include a reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer.

Support And Advocacy

Developed by the American Cancer Society, The Great American Smokeout began as a platform to encourage smokers to quit. Since then, the platform has expanded to not only encourage smokers to make a plan to quit, but also to encourage all Americans to advocate for comprehensive smoke-free laws that help protect workers and patrons from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, with 30 percent of all cancer deaths caused by tobacco use. Moreover, secondhand smoke is a major health hazard, proven to cause lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema.

With 4,000 chemicals and more than 60 carcinogens, including arsenic and polonium, secondhand smoke is responsible for 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually and another 35,000 to 45,000 deaths from heart disease in otherwise healthy nonsmokers.

“The Great American Smokeout provides a challenging opportunity for Connecticut residents to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors to reduce their risk of cancer. The Great American Smokeout is the ‘quit’ arm of the challenge,” said Connie Malave, area director of health initiatives for the American Cancer Society.

Join the American Cancer Society on Thursday, November 20, by participating in the 32nd annual Great American Smoke Out, and making a plan to quit smoking.

Ms Malave suggests that smoking quitlines, telephone-based services that provide information and one-on-one counseling, have become the most successful tool to quitting smoking by nearly doubling the chances that a smoker will quit successfully.

Contact the American Cancer Society at 800-ACS-2345, or visit www.cancer.org for information on a free quitline.